International Symposium "Underutilized plants for food, nutrition, income and sustainable development"

Some outputs and some visuals

More than 200 participants from 55 countries gathered in Arusha between March 3rd and 7th 2008. The attendance and good vibe that accompanied the 4 days are a clear indicator of the growing attention underutilized species are receiving.
This meeting represents the first activity of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences’ working group on underutilized plants. All of the delegates that attended now  belong to this group, chaired by Hannah Jaenicke of the ICUC and co-chaired by Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon of the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species.
The inspiring key note talks of the first day where followed by 94 oral presentations and 63 posters that addressed the four themes of food security, nutrition, income generation and sustainable development.
We will soon distribute this wealth of information in the form of a report and will try and make all the presentations and posters available on line as soon as possible. A series of recommendations to foster collaboration amongst the participants was developed around four pertinent issues asking the following questions:

What can we do…

…to address the opportunity of using underutilized plant species as risk buffers in times of climate change?
…to address the opportunity of using underutilized plant species for better nutrition?
…to meet the challenge of enhanced and sustained market access for underutilized plant products?
…to address the challenges regarding using underutilized species without undermining agrobiodiversity?”

On the opportunity of using underutilized plant species as risk buffers in times of climate change:

• Build a database on climatic adaptability of underutilized species
• Identify underutilized species that tolerate various stress situations
• Involve communities in the conservation, information gathering, knowledge sharing and dissemination

On the opportunity of using underutilized plant species for better nutrition:

• Establish a database of existing information of nutritive values of underutilized species
• Develop a local/regional based priority list of top ten underutilized species
• Create awareness of the importance of diets with nutritional underutilized species
• Build capacity at all levels throughout the value chain
• Policy support should be sought from Government agencies (Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Health) to mainstream underutilized species in school and hospital feeding programs

On the challenge of enhanced and sustained market access for underutilized plant products:

• Share and disseminate successful case studies on market access (reasons for success and failure)
• Develop and implement an advocacy and lobbying strategy
• Promote partnerships between value actors
• Carry out and document economic and market studies of different aspects of value chains

On the challenges regarding using underutilized species without undermining agrobiodiversity:

• Strengthen research on benefits of diverse farming and eco-systems
• Carry out risk analyses of invasiveness of new species and pressure on biodiversity through promotion of particular species / varieties
• Develop guidelines and good practices for sustainable use of underutilized species
• Create awareness at school and community level on importance of biodiversity for their environment, farming systems and eco-systems
• Set up working groups at national and international level involving researchers, policy advocates and farmer organizations

An electronic consultation amongst interested parties and addressing the four topics will soon take place.
Look out for it and let us know if you are interested to join the discussion/s.

Below some pictures depict the exhibit on underutilized species GFU showcased

 

 

 

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